Real-time CATA Loop and Link info now available via the TransLoc Rider app

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

The start of a new year is bringing a new way to use CATA's Loop and Link campus transit services.

Real-time bus locations and arrival predictions for CATA's no-fare Blue Loop, White Loop, Red Link, and Green Link are now available at psu.transloc.com and via the TransLoc Rider mobile app, which can be downloaded for free at the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. After selecting Penn State and CATA from the list of available transit systems, users can save their favorite stops and routes, set customized alerts, and receive important system-wide announcements regarding campus transit service. Please note - if CATA is not listed as a nearby transit system, simply scroll through the alphabetical list of systems to find and select it.

Passengers without a smartphone can still get real-time arrival predictions via text through the Penn State TransLoc website.

TransLoc's automatic vehicle location (AVL) service first launched on campus in January 2017 to provide real-time tracking for Penn State's Campus Shuttle service, which added a second route - Campus Shuttle via Pollock Road - in August 2017. The popularity of the TransLoc Rider app and website were significant contributors to a 10 percent increase in Campus Shuttle ridership in 2017, and the addition of real-time CATA information was one of the most commonly requested items by TransLoc users.

Rob DeMayo, director of Transportation Services, hopes that the ability to see Campus Shuttle and Loop/Link real-time information together will encourage more students, faculty, staff, and visitors to use campus transit on a regular basis.

"Between CATA's four Loop and Link routes and two Campus Shuttle routes offered by Transportation Services, no-fare transit options serve nearly every corner of the University Park campus," says DeMayo. "Access to real-time bus locations and arrival predictions make it easier than ever to incorporate campus transit use as a part of everyone's daily transportation routine."

While the Loop and Link routes are the only CATA routes currently available via the TransLoc app and website, Transportation Services plans to add CATA community service route information later this year.